CHARLOTTE, N.C. (FWAA) – The Charlotte Touchdown Club in conjunction with the Football Writers Association of America officially announces Nick Saban, Head Football Coach at the University of Alabama, as Keynote Speaker for the 2014 Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet scheduled for Monday, December 8.

Saban

“I appreciate the invitation to speak at the 2014 Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet,” Coach Nick Saban said. "The Charlotte Touchdown Club and the Football Writers Association of America have built the Bronko Nagurski Trophy into one of the nation’s premiere defensive awards for college football and I’m excited to be a part of this year’s event.”

“The Charlotte Touchdown Club is thrilled to have Coach Nick Saban as Keynote Speaker for the 2014 Bronko Nagurski Banquet,” said John Rocco Executive Director of the Charlotte Touchdown Club. “We look forward to Coach Saban’s remarks and the announcement of the 2014 Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner at our black tie banquet held December 8th at the Westin Hotel.”

A man of vision who has a proven record of championship success, head coach Nick Saban has returned the University of Alabama to the top of the college football landscape with his commitment to building the total program. After the victory over Notre Dame in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game, Saban joined Frank Leahy, Paul “Bear” Bryant and John McKay as the only coaches to win four national titles in the modern era.

As he begins his eighth season in Tuscaloosa this spring, Saban’s uncompromising dedication to excellence in every phase of the program has resulted in the school’s 13th, 14th and 15th national championships and the foundation has been set to yield long-term success for the Crimson Tide.

A five-time National Coach of the Year, Saban has achieved resounding success as a head coach and has earned a reputation as an outstanding tactician, leader, organizer and motivator. Those qualities have sparked impressive turnarounds at every stop of his career. Saban’s consistent approach and disciplined leadership are the reasons his teams are known for exhibiting grit, determination and resilience, often overcoming adversity to achieve victory.

Saban led the 2013 Alabama team to the Allstate Sugar Bowl, making a sixth straight New Year’s Day bowl appearance and the third straight in a BCS bowl. This senior class posted a remarkable record of 60-7 over the last five years with four bowl wins and three national titles. Their record in the classroom was just as impressive as 28 Crimson Tide graduates took the field for the bowl matchup with Oklahoma. Senior quarterback AJ McCarron was named a first team All-American, won the Maxwell and Unitas Awards, and finished as the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting while directing one of the most productive offenses in school history.

On the other side of the ball, senior linebacker C.J. Mosley took home Alabama’s third Butkus Trophy and earned All-America honors for the second straight year as he led a defense that entered the bowl game ranked second nationally in fewest points allowed. Safety Ha Clinton-Dix and offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio joined McCarron and Mosley as first team All-Americans.

Saban has compiled a 165-57-1 (.742) record as a college head coach and has gone 72-9 (.889) in the past six seasons in Tuscaloosa, which includes a 42-6 mark in regular-season conference play. In 2013, the Tide reached the 10-win milestone for the seventh consecutive season under Saban. With another SEC Championship win and BCS National Championship Game victory in 2012, Saban is 8-1 all-time in conference or national championship games.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s official website, www.NCFAA.org.

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The Charlotte Touchdown Club was founded in 1991 for the purpose of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, N.C., region. The club's activities and services focus community attention on the outstanding Citizenship, Scholarship, Sportsmanship, and Leadership of area athletes and coaches.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is presented annually by the Charlotte Touchdown Club and the Football Writers Association of America to the nation’s most outstanding NCAA defensive football player at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet in Charlotte, N.C. All proceeds benefit the Charlotte Touchdown Club Scholarship Fund. For more information, call 704-347-2918 or visit touchdownclub.com.